The Full Moon at 13° Leo peaks today at 2:09pm PST. The Sun in Aquarius is focusing on service to humanity and breaking out of old constraints. But it’s not just the Sun. Pluto is bringing profound changes in the direction of that service. Mars has our experience of action and embodiment in this risk-taking mansion. Venus reminds us that we are led by love, and Mercury has pulled out in front, aligning our perceptions with the unique expressions that are completely yours and yours alone. Aquarius is the loner, but also the unicorn, and there has rarely been a better moment for our entire four-body system to align with innovation and a willingness to try radically new approaches to meeting the demands of the times.
The parade of personal planets has been preparing all of us in the same way for what is shaping up to be a truly unstable year. My Daily Astro Alert subscribers (become one) know the journey we’ve been on since the October New Moon has changed us deeply at the personal level. Now crammed together in Aquarius, conscious awareness includes our sense of power (Pluto), our capacity to act (Mars), how we feel (Venus), and what we’re focused on (Mercury). We are primed for unique approaches to, well, everything, having been squeezed into new shapes over the past three lunar cycles. This is the Full Moon where we make it count.
Leo is a fixed fire sign that rules the heart, and the Sun is quite literally the center of consciousness itself. As such, Leo struggles with extremes of too much or too little light, and neither works. Aquarius carries a shadow of righteousness and judgment, and it’s easy to fear what we don’t understand. Yet Aquarius is the original misunderstood hero, and when reduced to its essence, its purpose is to serve. Every once in a while I return to Tagore’s quote, which forms the basis of my personal credo: I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I woke and found that life was service. I served and found that service is joy. And by the way, Leo invented joy.
With Leo opposite Aquarius, the tension is between serving the self and serving something greater. If your path has become too self-involved, or if acts of service are secretly designed to benefit you rather than others, this Full Moon may kick your ass. Leo’s shadow of narcissism asks us to release self-serving motivations and the need to feel special, so humility can emerge. It is just as false, however, to avoid the risks involved with creating a joyful life because you feel inadequate to the task. False modesty, when deeply embedded, is a defense against vulnerability. So is egoic inflation. As we find the happy medium of Leonine fire, we become more prepared to leap into the unknown that Aquarius demands.
I don’t reference the Sabian Symbols often, but this one is especially juicy for the moment. These channeled images, one for each degree of the zodiac, have been used by astrologers for over a century. This lunation takes place at 13°03’ Leo, which we read as the 14th degree. The Sabian Symbol for this degree is: A human soul seeking opportunity for outward manifestation. I share this because it perfectly captures the directive we’re facing right now.
The time for inward retreat is over. We are being asked to manifest outward into a world that needs every one of us doing our part. Turning your private prayer practice toward the world is itself an act of service right now. We need everyone, from the contemplative mystic to the loudest activist. This Full Moon opens the unconscious so that whatever in your psyche needs adjusting can do so, allowing you to report for duty.
As more of us share our gifts with a world that desperately needs us rising to our best, a new sense of integration becomes possible, both personally and collectively. The United States has a narcissism problem, and not just among the malignant narcissists currently running the show. I know not all of you live here, but what happens here impacts the world at large. If we don’t get right-sized in relationship to the rest of the world, we won’t enter the future together.
I don’t know how to fix that, and I really don’t think it’s fixable. But it is absolutely transformable. I feel that in my bones. Transformation happens when enough people hold the light long enough to tip the scales toward peace. We do our part by looking in the mirror (Leo), reminding ourselves that we’ve got this, and then surrendering to even more change (Aquarius).
Leo is the archetype that introduced personal creative expression as a human birthright. I’m not talking about talent, but the sacred impulse to leave something of ourselves behind through what we create. If you’re feeling nudged to explore new ways of generating joy, this is the moment to step into action. This is also the polarity we’re moving into with this year’s eclipses. In July, the Nodes will change signs, redirecting eclipse energy into the Leo/Aquarius axis. The South Node in Leo will release ego and self-focus that has tipped out of balance, so the North Node in Aquarius can guide us toward collective responsibility and service. This Full Moon is like an appetizer of eclipses to come.
The Aquarius stelium and the Moon are forming a very loose Square to Uranus, increasing the instability of the moment. An almost Sextile to Chiron allows us to draw wisdom from spiritual tools. But the real juice, for me, is the Inconjunct to Jupiter, that long, narrow 150° angle that helps us exit the freeway we’re currently on. Trust that small adjustments now can lead you to far more abundant territory down the line.
Neptune is now in Aries, igniting creative inspiration. When Saturn joins him before the end of this lunar cycle, we’ll feel a demand to act based on faith and inspiration. What do you want to put into the world that feels risky? This is not a time to shrink back from visibility. The Sun doesn’t hide, and neither are we meant to. Just remember that fear of risk is often overdeveloped in people who needed to stay small to survive in their family of origin. To live a masterful life, it’s time to let that go and shine your light.
And if you need to dim your light so your service can be more easily received, trust that if arrogance or righteousness isn’t handled consciously, the world will handle it for you. As someone who has never learned humility without humiliation, let me say, don’t let that be you this lunar cycle. Use this Full Moon to find a truer, more joyful center. The Sun doesn’t struggle to be where it is. It simply is. So are we. Leo rules the Sun, and too little light causes things to wither, but so does too much hubris if we fly too close. Don’t be Icarus. Keep your ambitions right sized. The Jupiter Inconjunct will help in both directions. Have at it.
